


Stranded

by rsadelle



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-05-22
Updated: 1999-05-22
Packaged: 2017-10-29 10:23:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsadelle/pseuds/rsadelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byers has a little trouble getting home. Features Needy!Langly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stranded

**Author's Note:**

> It must be working; L/B mentions are showing up in non-L/B fic.

"Hello."

"Hi. I'm still stranded."

John. Shit. He's still in Chicago. It's snowing again there, so he can't get here.

"Oh. Any idea when you can get out of there?"

He sighs. "I don't know. Soon, I hope."

"Me too. I wish you were here." We're still in that fragile, beginning stage where we can barely keep our hands off of each other and we're afraid to be apart for very long. Well, I am anyway. John's much more secure. It's because of his family. Okay, so they named him after Kennedy. A lot of people were traumatized by the assassination and that's the way they chose to deal with it. My parents named me Ringo. A Beatle. I read a children's book once that made me cry because it had the line, "God help the children of the flower children." I'm just glad that was before I met Mel. He would've teased me mercilessly.

"I wish that, too. It's terrible here. Everybody's tense and there's nothing to do."

"You could've come home sooner."

"It's not like it's my fault."

"I didn't mean--" Didn't mean to snipe. Didn't mean to hurt. Didn't mean to fall in love.

"I know." And he does. He knows I didn't mean it. He knows about my family. And he knows . . . But still . . .

"I love you."

"I love you, too." And his voice is warm with pride and satisfaction. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything. I've got the cell, so you can call me if you need to."

"All right."

"Be good for Mel, okay?" He's teasing me now.

"I will."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

I lean my head against the wall as Mel comes out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a dishtowel.

"He's still stranded. He'll call when he knows anything."

He nods. "Dinner's ready."

We try to act normally, but it's not the same without John. There's no one to soften our sniping. No one to smile at me when he thinks Mel isn't looking.

"Don't look so sad. He'll be back in a few days."

"I know." I try to smile at him, but it's not very convincing.

***

It's two days later and John is finally coming home.

"I'm going to pick up John."

"Okay. I'm going to finish this article and then I'll scram to give you two some time alone."

"Thanks Mel."

"No problem." He smiles and hugs me. The hug is comforting in its reassurance of friendship and care.

I drive to the airport and meet John at the gate with a hug.

"Miss me?"

"Yes."

We find his luggage and head back to the car. We're both quiet on the way home. He leans back into the seat and rests his head on the window to watch me drive.

When we get home, I unlock the door for him and tell him, "Mel went out for a while."

"Well, that was nice of him," he says as he drops his luggage in the entryway. He traps me against the wall and kisses me. "It's good to be home."

"I'm glad you're back," I tell him, slightly dazed. Then I can't help it. I throw my arms around him and just cling to him, burying my face in his neck. He hugs me back, then pulls my head up to kiss me.

"Come on." He sounds as breathless as I feel. He takes me back to his bedroom where I let him push me down onto his bed and make love to me until I cry out his name.

When we lay on his bed, exhausted, I slide closer to him and put out a tentative hand. He understands and pulls me close. He strokes my hair.

"You know, we are going to have to get up and take a shower before Mel gets back."

"I know, but can we just stay here for a while?"

"Sure." He presses a kiss to my forehead and we lay there for a while longer, together.


End file.
